Chapter 12
Chapter 12
D ave bolted up the steps and across the porch, hand out to thrust open the door. Heart hammering, he could feel the skin over his pec muscle beginning to warm. More screams.
No. God, no. Not again, not here. “Jenny!”
He heard a clatter in the kitchen. His arms pumped as he ran down the hall, scanning the rooms through the open doorways until he raced around the bend in the hall.
“Jenny!” He heard Sully’s cry, the sound of her flip-flops smacking the floorboards as she raced along behind him.
The door to the kitchen was closed. Dave didn’t slow down, just bent his right arm in front of him and shoulder-charged the door.
The door gave way, whipping open as he barreled through. Jenny was on the floor, screaming, legs kicking. A guy straddled her, but froze when he heard the door. Dave roared. Instinctively he summoned his powers, only to feel...nothing.
Damn it. Nulls. The guy didn’t even turn to face him, but rose and raced through the back door. Dave’s skin stopped itching.
His gaze met Jenny’s wide-eyed fearful stare. She was crap-scared, but physically all right. He didn’t stop, but darted through the back door. He hesitated briefly, scanning the yard. There. The back gate hung agape, as though it had been slammed closed but not latched, and was slowly swinging back open again.
Arms and legs pumping, he ran through the gate, and caught sight of a dark leg and shoe as his quarry raced down the narrow lane between rows of houses, and then around the corner. Dave took off again, hands straight, his stride lengthening. So close. Finally. So. Damn. Close.
He skidded around the corner. Damn it. Another lane. There. Farther up, the guy was hitting the gravel pretty damn hard. He wanted to send a blast toward him, level the bastard with a powerful shove of magic, yet being in the heart of the null neighborhood, it didn’t matter how much he tried to draw on his powers, nothing would come forth. Dave sprinted after him. The man turned and jumped over a low fence, and Dave followed, bracing his hands on the horizontal rail as he swung his legs over in a smooth movement, and then took off running across someone’s back lawn. Well, dirt patch.
He ducked under the low-hanging branch of a magnolia, and ignored the cry of an older woman peering through her kitchen window.
The witch pounded along the driveway, then took a gradual curve across the front lawn, jumping over the fence like an athlete in a hurdle race. Dave sprinted, then inhaled as he leaped over the fence. He didn’t break stride as he hit the ground running.
The witch raced along the street. Look at me. Dave’s jaw clenched. The guy wasn’t looking in any direction except straight ahead. Wasn’t even checking if Dave was still in pursuit. All Dave could see was the back of the man’s head. The witch hit an intersection and turned right, his hand raised to shield his face.
Dave pumped his legs harder, faster. Damn him. He was hiding his face. The witch ducked behind a tall fence, and it took Dave a couple of seconds to reach the spot. Dave skidded to a stop, glancing about wildly.
What? Where the hell had he gone? An old woman, stooped over so much that she could barely make eye contact with him, gave him a friendly smile and wave as she started to cross the street.
Dave went up to the fence, grabbed the top and pulled himself up to peer over it. He scanned the backyard. A dog lifted its head, then rose when he saw Dave. He barked.
There was no sign of the witch he’d been pursuing, and the dog would have sounded the alarm had someone tried to scale the fence and run through the yard.
Dave dropped to the ground, then glanced up and down the street. What the hell? He jogged from one driveway to the other, glancing down and around. Nothing. Nobody. He tried to summon his powers again, and frustration licked at him like a hot flame at the silence, the cool...the void.
He hurried in the direction of the old woman.
“Excuse me, ma’am?”
The woman slowed, and it took seconds for her to scan the street.
“Ma’am,” Dave said again as he jogged up to her. It seemed to take a moment for her to realize he was behind her, and she shifted. Slowly. Little shuffling steps.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but did you see where that man went?”
She was hunched over, her gaze on his shoes, and it took her a moment to try to lift her head enough to meet his gaze. Dave leaned forward to save her the effort.
“What?” she asked, her white brows dipping. She raised her hand to cup her ear.
“The man,” Dave repeated loudly. “Did you see where he went?”
“Man? What man?” Her rheumy eyes showed her confusion. She blinked at him, as though trying to understand him. Or remember him. Or...maybe just focus on him.
“Uh, the man—I was following a man round here,” he said, gesturing toward the corner.
She shifted. Slowly. Little shuffling steps so that she could see where he was pointing. She blinked, squinting. “Where is he?” she asked him.
He took a breath. “I don’t know. Did you see where he went?”
“Where who went?” she asked curiously, angling her head this way and that to peer up and down the street. She reminded him of a bird, with her hooked nose, small eyes and the tilt of her head, first one way, then another.
He sighed. She was nearly deaf and blind, and obviously hadn’t seen anything. “Never mind. Thank you,” he added. He looked around. The witch had disappeared. Somehow. “Here, let me help you,” he said, offering her his arm. She smiled up at him.
“Why, thank you.”
They shuffled across the street together, and he cupped her elbow as she stepped up onto the curb.
She nodded at him, then shuffled on her way. Dave turned back to the street, his hands on his hips as he tried to figure out how he’d managed to lose the guy. Lips pressed tight, he started to walk back the way he’d come, then started to jog. He wanted to get back to Sully—and to Jenny.
Sully’s friend was going to have to talk with him, now—whether she liked to or not. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
Sully looked up from Jenny as Dave thumped up the back steps and through the back door. Jenny startled, her tea sloshing in her mug, and Sully covered her friend’s hands as they cupped the ceramic mug on the table.
Dave’s large frame seemed to darken the kitchen, until he stepped farther into the room. His navy T-shirt sported a damp V-patch on the front, and perspiration dripped down the sides of his face and neck. He’d run hard.
He walked over to her friend and put his hand on her shoulder, bending low to meet her gaze.
“Are you okay?” he asked Jenny quietly. If it had been appropriate, Sully would have stood and hugged him. His tone was low, so gentle, with just the right amount of concern that was heartwarming, but still strong enough that Jenny wouldn’t break down into tears—which seemed likely. Sully could feel her friend trembling, and she so wanted to take some of that fear, that residual terror from her. For the first time, she wished she could still use her powers with the nulls.
Jenny nodded, her eyes wide. “Yeah,” she said, her voice hoarse.
Dave reached for a high-backed chair at the end of the table, swung it around on a leg and straddled it, his muscled forearms folded across the top as he looked directly at Jenny.
“Mind telling me what happened?” he asked in a mild voice.
Jenny nodded. She opened her mouth, then blinked. She frowned. “I don’t—I don’t know,” she said, then looked uncertainly at Dave, then at Sully.
Sully reached for her shoulder. “It’s okay, Jen. Take your time.”
Jenny shook her head, her expression becoming distraught. “I—I don’t know,” she said, her voice rising in pitch. “I remember...” Her gaze drifted to Dave. “You,” she breathed. “You, breaking through my door...”
Sully glanced over at the kitchen door. The section of the door where the doorknob was located was rough and splintered, and there was a long crack down the middle panel. From the moment they’d heard Jenny’s scream from the front door, Dave had become a force of energy, barreling through the house, and not slowing down for something as trivial as a door. She had entered the kitchen only to see him race through the back door.
For a big guy, he could move like lightning.
And Jenny had been on the floor, shaken and trembling. Sully had made a quick call to Tyler Clinton, and then to Jacob, and then had tended to her friend.
Now, with a cup of tea in her hands, Jenny was beginning to calm, although her cheeks were tear-streaked, and her knuckles were white as she clasped the ceramic mug.
Dave nodded. “Yes, we heard you screaming,” he told her. “What can you tell us about the man, Jenny?”
Jenny’s hand went to her neck. “My throat is sore.”
Sully nodded, smoothing her hand across her friend’s back. “You were screaming, Jen.”
“The man?” Dave prompted.
Jenny frowned, her gaze caught by a bruise on her wrist, and she turned her hand over to see how far it extended. “The man...” she repeated. She blinked, then looked at Sully. “I don’t remember him,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “Why don’t I remember him?” Her voice held a hint of panic.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Sully said, knowing it was anything but. “Take your time.” Her gaze flicked to Dave, but his face was composed. Neutral. She smiled gently at Jenny. “What were you doing earlier?”
Jenny frowned, looking around the kitchen. “I—I’m not quite sure.”
“Why aren’t you at school?” Sully tried a different tact.
“Uh, the principal has to do a day each month or so in a class, and today she’s teaching my class. She says it keeps her fresh, gives her a chance to see the syllabus in action. She’s done it for the past six years.” Jenny nodded. “It’s a good thing—she can foresee some of the issues when the curriculum changes. So I’m home preparing lessons for next semester.”
“Where were you preparing the lessons?” Dave asked.
Jenny blinked. “In—in my living room,” she murmured. He rose from his seat and indicated the doorway.
“Would you mind showing us?”
Jenny nodded, and rose, leaving her tea on the table. She led them to her small living room. The coffee table in the center of the room was strewn with papers, and her large diary was opened up to a couple of months away.
Dave nodded, then glanced around the room. “Okay. Can you remember what happened after that?”
Jenny touched her hand to her mouth, then turned to the hallway. “There was a knock at the door...” Her hands trembled, and she pressed her fingers to her temple. “It’s so murky. Why can’t I remember?”
Dave reached for her hand, and cupped it in both of his. “It’s okay, Jenny. We’ll figure this out,” he reassured her.
Sully watched as her friend seem to draw comfort from Dave’s words. He pulled her gently into the hallway. “So, there was a knock at the door...you went to answer it?”
Jenny nodded, and Dave guided her closer to the door. “Can you remember what happened? You would have reached for the doorknob...”
He raised her hand, and Jenny whipped it out of his reach. She stepped closer to Sully, her face pale. “No.”
Sully glanced at her. “No? Do you remember something, Jen?”
Jenny shook her head, folding her arms as she looked at her front door with trepidation. “No.”
“It’s okay, Jenny. He’s not here anymore. He can’t hurt you.”
“Can you remember anything about him, Jen? His hair, his eyes...?”
Jenny caught her lip between her teeth. Sully watched the movement, dismayed. Her friend was so...timid, so afraid. On one level, she could understand—the guy had tried to kill her. But—this was Jenny . Her friend was normally so feisty and vivacious, and here she was, too scared to open her own front door.
Memories surfaced, of a similar time when her own heart would stutter at the slightest sound inside her city apartment... She reached for her friend’s arm, trying to imbue support and comfort, and feeling nothing rise inside.
Jenny shook her head and took a step back, her gaze fixed on the door.
“Okay, Jenny,” Dave said, and Sully was momentarily distracted by the smooth, soothing tone he used. He stepped between Jenny and the door.
“You can remember the knock at the door, you can remember going to answer it. Once you opened the door, what—”
The pounding at the door made them all jump. “Jenny! Jenny, are you okay?”
Sully’s shoulders sagged when she recognized Jacob’s voice. The doorknob turned, and the door swung inward.
Jenny screamed, collapsing to the floor sobbing, holding her arms up in front of her. “No, please, no,” she cried.
Jacob stared down at his sister in stunned shock, and stepped toward her. Jenny screamed again, scrambling back on her hands and feet.
“No! Stop, get out!”
Jacob halted, his mouth agape. Sully glanced between Jenny and the brother her friend adored. Why was she reacting like this?
“Jenny—” Jacob breathed in dismay as flashing red-and-blue lights flickered into the hallway, and Tyler Clinton bounded up the stairs in his sheriff’s uniform.
“No!” Jenny screamed, almost hysterical as she backed away.
Dave held out his arms between the siblings, inserting himself between them. “Jenny, it’s okay,” he said, soothing.
“It was him,” she cried, stopping when she backed up against a wall. Her head tilted, and she drew her knees up as though trying to back her way through the wall.
Sully frowned, looking over at Jacob. He looked so shocked, so hurt, so worried. She looked back at Jenny. Her friend was trembling, pale and teary as she tried to curl up and disappear.
Tyler frowned as he stepped inside the house, and looked between Jenny and Jacob. Sully knelt next to her friend, holding her arms out, and Jenny collapsed against her, sobbing. She lifted her gaze to meet Dave’s. His expression was grim as he looked between the Forsyth siblings.
“What happened” Tyler asked curtly, surveying those gathered in the hallway.
Dave shifted his gaze from Sully to Jenny. “Good question.”